CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year

CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year

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CAT Admit Card Date:12 Nov' 25 - 30 Nov' 25

Suvam MaitiUpdated on 06 Nov 2025, 11:39 AM IST

According to the latest notification, the 2.95 lakh candidates will be able to download the CAT 2025 admit card from the official website- iimcat.ac.in. Moreover, the CAT 2025 admit card release date has also been postponed to November 12, 2025. Last year, 3.29 lakhs applicants had completed the CAT registration 2024, while 2.93 lakhs candidates appeared for the CAT examination. So, compared to last year, there are approximately 34 thousand fewer CAT registrations this year. This year, CAT 2025 registration started on August 01, 2025, and candidates were able to fill up the CAT 2025 application till September 20, 2025. CAT 2025 will be held on November 30 for MBA admission to IIMs, IITs. NITs, and over 1000 b-schools of the country. Explore the article to learn more about the CAT 2025 application number over the years, the CAT 2025 admit card date, etc.

LiveCAT 2025 LIVE: IIMCAT exam on November 30; admit card date, slot timingsNov 6, 2025 | 2:50 PM IST

IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Lucknow joined Goldman Sachs' '10,000 women' initiative. The programme aims to graduate 1,000 women entrepreneurs in India. The company already partners with IIM Bangalore. 

Read More: IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow join Goldman Sachs’ ‘10,000 Women’ programme to support women-led businesses

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This Story also Contains

  1. CAT 2025 Registration: Decline in Numbers?
  2. CAT Registration over the Years 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023 vs 2022 vs 2021
  3. CAT Registration vs CAT Exam Day Turn Up: 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023
  4. CAT 2025 Admit Card Date Postponed
CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year
CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year

CAT 2025 Registration: Decline in Numbers?

As per the latest update by the CAT 2025 conducting body, IIM Kozhikode says CAT 2025 admit card has been generated for 2.95 lakh candidates. IIM Kozhikode has not published any specific numbers regarding how many students have registered for the CAT 2025, but rather has mentioned the number of students who can download the admit card.

CAT Registration over the Years 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023 vs 2022 vs 2021

While in 2024, 2.93 lakhs candidates appeared for the CAT examination, in 2025, 2.95 lakhs candidates will be issued the CAT 2025 admit card. The table below shows the CAT registration trends over the years.

Year

CAT Conducting IIMs

Total CAT registrations

Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam

2025

IIM Kozhikode

2.95 Lakhs (Eligible to download Admit Card)

-

2024

IIM Calcutta

3.29 Lakhs

2.93 Lakhs

2023

IIM Lucknow

3.28 Lakhs

2.88 Lakhs

2022

IIM Bangalore

2.55 Lakhs

2.22 Lakhs

2021

IIM Ahmedabad

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

2020

IIM Indore

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

CAT Registration vs CAT Exam Day Turn Up: 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023

Going by the trends of the previous years, it is expected that 87-89% of the CAT 2025 registrations will appear on the day of the examination. So if there is no further alteration in the CAT 2025 admit card download numbers, it is expected that applicants between 2.62 lakhs to 2.56 lakhs will appear for the CAT 2025 examination. Check out the table below for trends regarding CAT registration vs the CAT exam day turn-ups of the previous years.

Year

Total CAT registrations

Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam

% of students appearing for the CAT

2025

2.95 Lakhs (Eligible to download Admit Card)

-

87-89% (based on trends)

2024

3.29 Lakhs

2.93 Lakhs

89

2023

3.28 Lakhs

2.88 Lakhs

87.8

2022

2.55 Lakhs

2.22 Lakhs

87

2021

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

83.4

2020

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

83.4

CAT 2025 Admit Card Date Postponed

The CAT 2025 admit card release has been postponed. The new CAT admit card release date 2025 is November 12, 2025. Here are the other CAT 2025 important dates.

CAT 2025 Registration Started

August 01, 2025

The CAT Application 2025 ended

September 20, 2025

CAT 2025 Admit Card Release Date

November 12, 2025

CAT 2025 Examination

November 30, 2025

CAT 2025 Result

December 19/20, 2025

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

Hello

You can get all the papers on the Careers360 website. To access the paper and download it for practice, just visit here:

https://design.careers360.com/articles/nift-cat-2024-question-paper-with-solutions

Hope it will help you!!

Hello dear candidate,

Yes, you have a very good chance of getting a BPT seat with 488 out of 600 and TS EAMCET rank of 14,000 under the ST category.

As the cut off of BPT for ST category students are generally between 25,000 to 45,000 ranks, depending upon the college and you have TS EAMCET rank of 14,000.

Thank you.

If you got 802 marks in Telangana Intermediate and belong to the ST category, you have a fair chance to get admission in a BPT course in 2025, but it depends on the college and cut-off. Most BPT colleges in Telangana ask for 12th marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, and some also use the TS EAMCET rank for admission. The cut-off for ST students is usually lower than for general students, but it changes every year. It is better to check the previous year’s cut-offs of the colleges you want to apply to.

Hello, Getting shortlisted for IIM Lucknow or IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) with your profile is challenging, primarily due to your 58% in Class 10th, which significantly impacts the composite score calculation for both institutes. While your 98 percentile CAT score is excellent, and your 24 months of work experience, B.Com (Hons) background (providing academic diversity, especially for IIM-L), and KVS National player status are valuable additions, top IIMs and IITs heavily weigh consistent academic performance. Your 74% in 12th is also on the lower side. IIM Lucknow places substantial weight on 10th and 12th marks, making a call quite difficult despite your strengths. You likely have a relatively better, though still uncertain, chance at IIT Bombay, as their weighting might be slightly less penalizing for past academics compared to IIM-L, and your high CAT score is a major factor. However, the low 10th score remains a significant hurdle for both prestigious institutions.

I hope you found this information helpful and for study related queries you can ask in careers360 app, Have a great day and!

Hey,

You already have a strong profile with the score of 58% in Class 10, 74% in Class 12, and 80% in graduation, but admission in IIT Bombay, Shailesh J Mehta School of Management is quite competitive, especially if you are in general category because the cutoff for general goes to 98.5-99%. Your CAT percentage is impressive but your 10th marks might reduce your score during the shortlisting process. If you perform well in Written Ability Test and Personal Interview, and present your commerce background you still stand a fair chance. But it would also be wise if you have some backups like MDI Gurugram, IMT Ghaziabad, IMI Delhi, where your marks and profile will fit well in their selection range.